Crime in Victorian Edinburgh

Crime

Police Force

The 19th century saw many changes in the way crime was dealt with in Scotland. Scottish burghs were given power in 1833 to establish police forces if they had not already done so. The remit of the police at this time extended to maintaining sanitary conditions, and police duties included: 'Watching, Lighting, Cleansing, Regulation of the Keeping of Pigs, Asses, Dogs, and other inferior animals; Regulation of the lodging houses for the poorer classes; and preventing the undue accumulation of filth or manure'. Additionally, the job of police constable was not a well paid position and with the long working hours, the police force in the early part of Victoria's reign often consisted of recruits who were less than suitable and it was not uncommon to see constables appearing in court for crimes they themselves had committed. However, gradual improvements were made and a report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland in 1898, highlighted the 'greater efficiency and more general usefulness' that had been attained in the force in recent years. This had been achieved it seems, by a number of factors, such as: improving the pay and implementing pay rises after approved periods of service; supplying better and more suitable uniforms; providing suitable police stations, offices, and cells; mounting officers on bicycles; the extension of 'telephonic communication' in police jurisdictions; providing the new 'Police Manual'; providing 'ambulance instruction' and the introduction of a complete ambulance kit at the principal stations; instruction in baton and physical drill; and the provision of noiseless boots for night duty. The report also emphasised the importance of the detective branch of the service, in order to have trained and qualified officers specifically retained for criminal work, and who could continue investigations without taking officers away from their beats.

Detective Officers

The emergence of these 'Detective Officers' during Victoria's reign greatly assisted in the efforts against criminality, with detectives such as James McLevy, a well known figure at this time in Edinburgh, using the knowledge of local offenders and rapport they had built up to get to bottom of cases. McLevy often wrote about the cases he worked on and these stories were later published.

Courts

The Scottish courts dealt separately with Summary offences and Indictable offences. Summary offences were dealt with either by the Police (or Burgh) Court or the Sheriff Court. These ranged from the more petty offences to assaults. Indictable offences were dealt with by the Sheriff and Jury Court or the High Court of Justiciary. The only High Court of Justiciary, however, was in Edinburgh, so a 'Circuit Court of Justiciary' visited the other towns and cities routinely to hear the more serious cases. These were typically serious assaults, fraud or murder. It was not unusual at this time to receive a fairly lengthy prison sentence for crimes which we would probably describe as petty today, such as in the case of a 'Sweetie Vendor' who ended up in prison for selling sweets to children on a Sunday. However, on the other hand, it was also common for some violent crimes to attract a lenient sentence. Women could often receive a greater sentence than men for the same crimes, as committing crime went against the Victorian image of 'womanliness'. Police Courts dealt with most of the petty or nuisance crimes, whereas the Sheriff Courts dealt with the majority of criminal and civil cases. However as the power of this court was limited, major crimes were usually remitted to the High Court, and civil cases which were of a more complex nature were usually dealt with by the Court of Session. As with the Police Courts, the Sheriff Court could deal cases under Summary Procedure, however its sentencing power was greater. The Sheriff Court however, also dealt with cases under the more serious Solemn Procedure, where the cases are heard by a Sheriff sitting with a jury. Any cases thought to be out with the sentencing scope of the Sheriff Court were remitted to the High Court. High Court trials were held before a judge and jury, however in addition to trials, it presided over any criminal appeal cases from the High Court and the lower courts. The High Court of Justiciary and Circuit Court of Justiciary could give very lengthy prison sentences and in the Victorian era, could also give the sentence of death by hanging.

Penal Transportation

An alternative to the death sentence was 'Transportation', sometimes called 'Penal Transportation'. This popular court disposal was the deporting of convicted criminals to the colonies either for life or for a set period of time. Transportation, which was usually the result of a High Court trial, was seen as the humane alternative to execution, however as we will see in this chapter, this sentence was often given for fairly petty offences. The sentencing of people to Transportation ended in the late 1860s.

Mental Illness

A lack of proper treatment and understanding of mental illness, often resulted in some unfortunate characters ending up in the justice system, such as in the case below in 1874: A Forty year old man, described as 'powerfully built' and 'a madman', was arrested on this date after boarding a passenger steamer at Leith and refusing to produce a ticket for the journey. The sergeant of police on duty was called a struggle ensued which started on the ship and continued on the quay, with six men being required to bring Johnstone under control. He was taken to the police office in a wheelbarrow and it was established that he had previously escaped from an asylum. Victorian asylums could be fairly bleak, with patients treated more like prisoners.

Prison

A typical Victorian prison

Many prisons were built in the Victorian era, replacing the old Tollbooth jails. These prisons were often ineffective though, as they would house all types of offenders together, with debtors freely mixing with far more serious criminals. After 1868, when public executions stopped, hangings took place inside prisons. The 'separate system' of containing prisoners, which had prisoners spending their entire sentence without association with anyone, was tried in some Scottish prisons, but was eventually stopped due to concerns over the inhumanity and cruelty of the system.

Industrial Schools

Industrial schools were used for children whose behavior had become a cause for concern, but who had not yet committed a crime. The purpose of the industrial school was not only to provide children with an education, but also to teach them trades which they might use to gain employment in later life. There was much debate as to whether the cost of maintaining children in the reformatories should be recovered from the parents and whether this system was likely to be workable. Overall however, many Victorians thought the reformatories were a good thing for children at risk of leading a life of crime by, in the words of one Judge in 1896, 'preventing their ever coming into contact with crime or immorality while they were resident there'.